Tag Archives: monochrome

Photographs: Night, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Grant Avenue Sidewalk Scene, Evening

June 18, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Crowds of people walking past shops along Grant Avenue on a summer evening, San Francisco

To me, this photograph has a feeling of San Francisco. Yes, it is in a tourist location, but the crowded sidewalk, the diverse group of people, the somewhat old and (lovingly) worn buildings and sidewalk, the narrow street, the clutter… all contribute to the charm of The City.

There are a lot of small things in this complex photograph that I like. The center, though it is subtle, may be the man facing the camera and looking into the light of the store. But there is also the family with two children, one clutching dad’s hand and the other, barely visible, looking into that light. There’s more, but I’ll leave it to viewers to look.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

SFMOMA, Cloud

June 16, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A cloud above the new SFMOMA building

I think my landscape photographer instincts went to work on this photograph, despite its thoroughly urban subject. But imagine a valley floor, a vertical granite cliff, peaks beyond, and a cloud floating past and I think you might see the analogy. But this is a distinctly San Francisco street/architecture photograph.

I was on foot in The City, spending the better part of a day wandering around in an area bounded by the Embarcadero and the Bay, Market street more or less, and Fourth Street. I was headed south on a less crowded street, traveling more or less toward the newly remodeled SFMOMA (museum of modern art). I had been looking a the tall building on the right and the bit of the new portion of the museum poking out to its left when the solitary cloud appeared from behind the building and began to move from right to left. Having very little time to contemplate, I framed up this vertical composition and made the photograph “street” style, using the prime lens already on the camera and simply shooting handheld

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Sea Stack, Bluffs, Coastal Mountains

June 4, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A quiet evening along fog shrouded the Big Sur coastline

I think my favorite times along the Big Sur coast are in the supposed off-season, the non-summer months when the ocean tends to be a bit wilder, the winds blow stronger, and the visitors are fewer in number. Summer is often busy and not as scenic, with thick coastal fog in the morning and evening a frequent occurrence. Especially during fall and winter the passing Pacific weather fronts periodically scour out the clouds and the bring spectacular surf conditions.

Yet this photograph comes from summer. We had started back up the coast late in the day, a process that always has me contemplating a plan for the brief evening light interval — where do I want to be and what do I want to photograph. My plans often don’t play out exactly as I expected: the fog might block the sun, I might get held up photographing some unexpected subject. I made this photograph before the time for the last photograph of the day — those came a very short time later. From this spot the view overlooked a big action of the coastal waters, unusually calm and quiet, as the late afternoon light fell on the coastal bluffs and the afternoon haze turning into fog.

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Patio, Reflections

June 3, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Reflections in the window of an outdoor patio area at SFMOMA

This is (yet another!) photograph from our pre-opening visit to the newly updated and expanded SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art). The museum has been closed for something like two years while major construction was ongoing, and many have been waiting with a sense of expectation for the reopening, which took place in mid-May of this year.

It was a beautifully gray and wet day in San Francisco, with soft and gentle light. Several times I went outside onto the various patios and balconies that open from the museum to the surrounding urban San Francisco landscape, and the artificial structure produced by the expanses of reflecting glass became a subject. The extend and amplify open and lighted spaces, and make them seem to appear where big and solid building structures actually exist.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: monochrome

Grant Avenue Sidewalk Scene, Evening

Sea Stack, Bluffs, Coastal Mountains

Patio, Reflections

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.